July 19 (Reuters) - There is rarely a dull moment in

markets and the week to come will be no exception, with

make-or-break U.S. inflation data and tough questions over

international financing for Ukraine - all against a backdrop of

a fraught U.S. presidential race.

Earnings will be front and centre, as members of the

"Magnificent 7" report their results, along with major banks.

Here's your look at what's happening in markets in the

coming week, from Rae Wee in Singapore, Lewis Krauskopf in New

York and Naomi Rovnick, Tommy Wilkes and Marc Jones in London.

1/GIVE PCE A CHANCE

U.S. inflation data on July 26 will test growing market

expectations that the Fed is all but certain to cut interest

rates in the coming months.

June's personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index

is expected to have climbed 0.1% on a monthly basis, according

to a Reuters poll.

The release of the PCE report comes after another inflation

reading, the consumer price index, fell in June for the first

time in four years. That cooler-than-expected report set off a

rotation in equities and cemented market expectations that the

Fed is primed to cut rates in September.

Several days after CPI, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said

second-quarter inflation readings "add somewhat to confidence"

that the pace of price increases is returning to the Fed's

target in a sustainable fashion.

Investors will also be watching corporate results, as Tesla

and Alphabet feature in a busy week for earnings.

2/AD-VANCE WARNING

News that Donald Trump has chosen J.D. Vance as his running

mate for November's presidential election has reverberated

particularly sharply in emerging markets and nowhere more so

than Ukraine.

Trump has long-promised to broker an end to its war with

Russia and in Vance he has picked someone who has publicly

questioned whether supporting Kyiv is necessarily in the U.S.'

interests.

For markets, that is something to watch.

Ukraine has just proposed its first wartime hike in taxes

and is intensifying talks on a $20 billion sovereign debt

restructuring with the likes of BlackRock and PIMCO. Eastern

European currencies are getting twitchy again.

The U.S. reducing its weapons and support would be a

catastrophe for Ukraine. But a swift deal to end hostilities

could mean the massive reconstruction effort starts far sooner

than many had hoped, even if it would leave plenty of lingering

doubts.

3/INFLATION TEST

The Tokyo inflation report on July 26 will be the final

check-in on consumer prices before the Bank of Japan (BOJ) meets

on July 31, where the prospects of a rate hike from the central

bank remain a toss-up.

An acceleration in July's inflation figures could feed

expectations for further monetary policy tightening in the near

term, though a slowdown would likely see those bets unwind and

weigh on the yen.

Analysts say cost pressures from a weak yen, which

has fallen some 10% against the dollar this year, could heighten

the chance of inflation staying well above the BOJ's 2% target,

though that has also inadvertently hurt households.

While Tokyo's latest rounds of suspected intervention have

hauled the currency away from a 38-year low, any impact is

likely to be short-lived until rate differentials with the U.S.

narrow.

4/BANK ON IT

European banks' run of improving profitability and rising

share prices faces its latest test, as second-quarter earnings

get going in earnest.

Key is net interest income - which banks have seen surge

thanks to higher rates - as the European Central Bank looks to

cut rates further and the Bank of England prepares to ease.

Investors will also want to see how lenders are faring as

political uncertainty intensifies - French bank shares fell

sharply during recent elections.

A busy Wednesday sees Germany's Deutsche Bank,

Britain's Lloyds BNP Paribas in France,

Spain's Santander and Italy's UniCredit all

update investors, with more banks reporting the following week.

Analysts say the read-across from U.S. firms that have

already reported is that stronger investment banking revenues

should boost lenders with large investment bank arms such as

Deutsche and Switzerland's UBS, but markets have little

tolerance for interest income numbers that disappoint.

5/IN THE (EURO) ZONE

The euro zone economy is proving to be a huge dilemma for

the European Central Bank, as overall growth has been sluggish,

but strength in the dominant services sector, boosted by

tourism, has kept inflation pressures uncomfortably high.

Flash purchasing managers' indices out on July 24 will show

if the ECB's challenge is getting any easier.

The euro zone PMIs, based on business managers' observations

of price and demand trends, could be especially influential

after the ECB held interest rates at 3.75% and resisted offering

future guidance, saying it was "data-dependent."

The central bank, which lowered borrowing costs for the

first time in five years in June, does see inflation moderating.

Money markets are firmly pricing a September rate cut,

supporting euro zone stocks, government bonds and the euro for

now, but also raising the threat level of any PMI result that

could shift the ECB's view.

(Compiled by Amanda Cooper; Graphics by Vineet Sachdev, Prinz

Matgulis and Pasit Kongkunakornkul; Editing by Hugh Lawson)